First visit with a fertility specialist ...

MAtoMEbride · April 2012

I have my first visit with a fertility specialist this week. Just wondering if anyone has any advice or comments about what I should expect.

I'm kind of nervous ...

emmypants · April 2012

Take a notebook!! We just had ours and I wrote a lot. Take a list of questions, I found a ton on Google. Good luck.

lesleyzeb · April 2012

I'm not sure if ours was a normal visit or not - it was really just a consultation. He didn't ask to see my charts; didn't go into a lot of "do's" and "don'ts". Their online questionnaire was pretty thorough and he'd already looked at that so he asked some follow up questions. The only test I had had was an AMH though (they do them for free at the seminars) so that's the only number we knew at the appointment aside from the SA we had done a couple months before that. He did order lab work - which we were able to take to our in-network docs (ob and internist); ordered the HSG for me; and ordered a repeat SA due to one borderline result. He explained that my AMH wasn't great, but alone shouldn't be that big of a deal - that with the additional testing he'd let us know whether we should start with meds, or perhaps jump straight to IVF. Of course there is IUI in the middle of those 2 things but his point was, if he doesn't think meds or IUI would work, don't waste time - and I appreciated the honesty! They did call me back once he looked at my blood work, and adjusted my thyroid medicine. Other than that, they are waiting on DH's blood work and the repeat SA - so we won't have a follow up appointment until mid-May, a month after our consult. I'm incredibly Type A and just want to get the show on the road, but I'm sure we are really getting everything done pretty quickly. They were very nice and gave us all the info we needed. It's one of those places that can do everything in-house; they also confirm insurance benefits so you know exactly what you'll need to pay, and they'll try to keep your out of pocket costs pretty low. We debated about trying an ob/gyn that does most of this work but decided for stress level it was better to get a "full service" place so to speak. I'm sure your visit will depend on what sort of info you already have, your age, medical issues, etc. Definitely write down any questions because you will be nervous but remember - they do this all day long, every day. It's no different than someone being nervous to see us at our office ... we would think that is weird because "it's no big deal." Ok sure I don't create people at my job ... but still.

amh612 · April 2012

Definitely take notes, and also if you have a partner/spouse it might be a good idea to have them come with you as well if they are not already going. We got so much info on our first visit, and there were a few things that my DH picked up on that I missed and vice versa. It helped having him there as he had his own questions about the process. Good luck!

Durham1008 · April 2012

amh612:
Definitely take notes, and also if you have a partner/spouse it might be a good idea to have them come with you as well if they are not already going. We got so much info on our first visit, and there were a few things that my DH picked up on that I missed and vice versa. It helped having him there as he had his own questions about the process. Good luck!

Definitely agree on the taking partner/spouse. It was so nice to have my DH there just so he understood what was going on and why we needed to see the RE.

Shayliz · April 2012

I brought my husband and a list of questions. IF you haven't had any testing done yet, the visit will probably be a lot of info on what tests you need (usually CD3 bloodwork, an HSG, an ultrasound, and 7dpo bloodwork for you, a sperm analysis for your husband) and then scheduling another appointment to regroup after all of those are done.

GermanGirl2007 · April 2012

My first visit was last week, and unfortunately, my DH wasn't able to come. I had already had all bloodwork done, as well as an HSG and an SA for my DH (through my OB) before going to the appointment. I brought along copies of all of the test results, as well as the results from my last pap. I also brought along copies of my charts for the last 16 months. We talked for quite awhile, and he answered many of the questions I had.

I also had an internal u/s, and he ran an infectious disease blood panel. (5 vials of blood). I also met with the billing department, and a nurse to go over the treatment plan, and the patient checklist of what I need to do before beginning treatment. I was impressed with how thorough everything was, and the time that was taken to answer my questions.

I hope you have a really positive experience.

JBDamonM · April 2012

My experience was very similar to german Girls.

We had done a ton of paperwork and I had my records from my Ob-Gyn office sent over before hand, as well as my HSG scan, and the appointment consisted of discussing more details on my health and family history as well as an internal ultra sound. He also had us both do our infectuous disease bloodwork that day.

We got a checklist of stuff to do before we take next steps and are still waiting on a few things.

I was a nervous wreck when we went but walked out of there feeling optomistic and awesome. I hope your experience is as good as mine was. Good luck.

First visit with a fertility specialist ...

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